Friday, October 29, 2010

there's a new
sheriff
council in town, The Pontifical Council for Promoting the New Evangelization. i like it. and those who like it, like it a lot! here's a quick summary. i'm excited about this, since using da Internet is yet another way to announce the Good News of Jesus Christ. of course, the peeps will be trying to understand what "new evangelization" exactly means in the context of modern means of communincation. i also like the emphasis of returning to the basics, promoting the use of the Catechism of the Catholic Church. it will indeed help us on our journey of faith. i've already seen the reality of this at work. a few of my ordination classmates have tried to create blogs anonymously. nope! here they are, please encourage them as well 1) Fr. Frank, and 2) Fr. Steve. why, well i'm thinking because of the promptings of Rocco Palmo. anywho.

this is an interesting phenomenon, eh? priests blogging (i lost count of how many i follow), and bishops too! Salt & Light has begun covering this as well! this week's questions on Perspectives is on social networking and whether or not it is making us stupid. these are excellent 30min webisodes on faith - check it out (i can't find their webisode on priests and facebook, sometime last February i think). this is our culture, and one cannot but be affected by it. i follow a few priests and bishops on facebook, twitter, and blogs as well (using Thunderbird). is not the next logical step, that one day the next Pope will have a facebook profile, twitter account, or blog? hmmm?! our Holy Father, Pope Benedict XVI has a Youtube Channel after all! also very good!

back to the new evangelization for a second, linked to U2. these new tools, whatever they are, whatever they may become, are simply that - tools, means to an end, a way to know, love and follow Our Lord Jesus Christ! all these profiles, accounts, channels should help us know the love and mercy of God in our lives! in fact, maybe that's it ... maybe the new evangelization is all about and should be linked to God's mercy? God loves us and has mercy on us - how often, and too easily we forget. cool! peace out!

Thursday, October 28, 2010

and you will find Me
time after time
if you fall I will catch you
I'll be waiting
time after time" (Cyndi Lauper - Time after Time, 1984)

today is my day off. i take it most of the time. sometimes we (i) get worried and distracted by many things. time after time, Our Lord is always present to us. no matter how many times we may fall, we trust in His mercy. we all get lost at times, but our direction continues to be with God in Jesus Christ. Your will be done. my day off gives me more time to be with Him, in prayer, in the Eucharist, and in the Sacrament of Reconciliation as the penitent. time is not always on our hands, however - as Mick would say. in yesterday's Gospel, our Lord mentions that those who ate and drank with him may not be invited inside. the Gospel reminds that salvation is ours, but that we must take the time to "strive to enter through the narrow door", take time to smile at our neighbours, listen to them and to God in prayer. love God, love neighbour = culture of life. peace out.

Wednesday, October 27, 2010

i've got news for you
gonna put some wheels in motion
get ready 'cause we're coming through
hey now, hey now, hear what I say now
happiness is just around the corner
hey now, hey now, hear what I say nowHe will be there for you" (Vengaboys - We like to Party, 1998)

we (Catholics) like to party, we like, ..., we like to party! i'm still enjoying the powerful celebrations from this past weekend (a, b). i enjoyed the text the Archbishop read before he inserted the relics into the altar (same wording as our official plaque which now hangs on the wall in the church):

"This Church was consecrated by

His Grace Most Rev. Terrence Prendergast

on Saturday October 23, 2010.

He also inserted

a relic of St. Marguerite d'Youville

and a relic of St. Brother André Bessette

into the base of our main altar of the same day."

WOW! BAM! not too bad, eh? after signing this note, after inserting the relics, some guy - a friend, who seemed to come out of nowhere, proceeded to close the hole in the base of the altar with cement. the whole celebration was absolutely beautiful! you must see the pictures, therefore go to Archbishop's blog - here, and here! peace out.

Tuesday, October 26, 2010

"now life is one big party when you’re still young
and who’s gonna have your back when it’s all done
it’s all good when you’re little, you have pure fun
can’t be a fool, son, what about the long run" (Shaggy ft. Rayvon - Angel, 2001)

C.S. Lewis, in kahoots with the above lyrics once said, "God allows us to experience the low points of life in order to teach us lessons that we could learn in no other way." i agree, 'cause i know. but why must we walk this path, ... i guess maybe 'cause we can learn in no other way than by falling?

"there is nothing wrong with being lost. at least i know the direction - Our Lord Jesus Christ!" - me, and these words still ring true! it's cool that i can now follow my journey of faith. i imagine that's why some of my friends have begun blogging. anywho.

i didn't always know this truth- the truth of Our Lord. last week i watched the movie the social network, about the co-founders of facebook, including of course, Mark Zuckerberg. this movie was good, for several reasons, and i also identified with many of the characters - coming from a similar background.

i believe the movie emphasizes not so much this one website on da internet, but rather focuses on relationships between so-called friends - and their respective journeys towards meaning or lack of meaning in life. there's nothing wrong with creating a website. it's how you use it. if you let it replace something important, Someone important, than as the movie showed, one might be on a slippery slope - of possibly sex, drugs, rock 'n' roll.

why must we always go through the difficult path in order to find peace? indeed, the movie was a commentary on our culture, on all generations. why do we feel the
need for speed
, why do we feel the need to find the next big wave? in the movie, Mark goes through highs and lows. this theme is repeated in a billion other movies. it is repeated in all our lives. what is that moment that makes us realize we only need one thing? have you found that one thing yet?

however, Christianity is not about something, but Someone - JC, ya you know Me! we all have to chose between the road not taken at times. of course, life is meant to be enjoyed. Our Lord wants us to be happy. the question is never one of not inventing, creating facebook, this or that website, or the next big iPad, technology, something that will change our culture - indeed, Our Lord wants us to use our talents and gifts - but always for the greater good. if we continue to accumulate wealth for the sake of accumulating wealth, then we are lost - as the movie showed so clearly. simply put, love God + love neighbour. easier said than done.

Monday, October 25, 2010

this past weekend was jammed pack full of fun and celebrations! we had the privilege of welcoming His Grace, our Archbishop, for his pastoral visit. of course, one of the highlights was the Consecration of Annunciation of the Lord parish. we visited schools, senior residences, met with the parishionners, had a few good meals, blessing of the two new sculptures - Annunciation + Pentecost, and through it all we managed do it with no fires - except this one on the main altar, on purpose! good times, indeed! it was a great weekend. i'm hoping to see more pictures online very soon. stay tuned.

in continuation of these good times, let's not forget road hockey in the parking lot of the parish, Saturday's from 2pm-3pm'ish. i need exercise and competition! who's in? as i noted on the parish website, we are now beginning monthly parish movie nights. vote soon. vote often.

here's another picture of the youth serving at last night's mass with His Grace presiding. it was powerful weekend!

Tuesday, October 19, 2010

listening to the Big 80's on XM radio always brings back good memories. yes, this too is one. why?

anywho, a quick read of the name of the above band reminds me of the Social Network - friends suing friends. not always fun and games. but the movie was great. it's a good movie for a few reasons. i'll comment on them later.

but now, the reason for this post! this weekend we - Annunciation of the Lord parish community - are celebrating our 30th Anniversary. we didn't build this church on rock and roll, but more importantly, on people like you and me!

"For no one can lay any foundation other than the one that has been laid; that foundation is Jesus Christ. ... For God's temple is holy, and you are that temple." (1 Cor 3:11)

this will be a big celebration for us, indeed. it also will coincide with our Archbishop's canonical pastoral visit. since we wanted to continue to kick it up a notch - not only is the ABp visiting us, not only is it our 30th Anniversary, but how about we consecrate the church - as in the Rite of Consecration! booyah!!!

it gets better! part of the Rite of Consecration includes placing relics in the altar. we've never had relics in the past 30 years, and the People of God urged our pastor to look into it. therefore, not only do we have one relic, but two:

did you do a double-take? me too. a relic of the newest Saint of the Universal Church will have a permanent place at our parish. beautiful. let's continue to kick it up a notch, shall we? we now have, in our possession, two relics of the only two Canadian born Saints of the Universal Church - and as of this weekend, they will be inserted into the altar for eternity! holy bananas, batman! you don't want to miss any of this! come one, come all, come early, indeed!

i'm a bit excited, as you can tell. i'm helping iron out all liturgical details, so hopefully everything goes smoothly - did i mention that there would be a fire on the altar? this is too much, eh? i know. i'm loving it, too! the above scripture quote is from 1 Cor 3:9b-11, 16-17, which happens to be the Second reading for our celebration Saturday, October 23, @ 5pm. it definitely will be a beautiful and powerful celebration. plus, our Archbishop will be with us all weekend, presiding and preaching.

more to come on this, and hopefully a few pictures as well. see you soon. peace out.